The late afternoon sun was sinking as Abel and Ben trudged toward Abel's bike. Abel's face was set in a stormy scowl, his backpack slung over one shoulder, and his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Ben walked beside him, trying to keep up with Abel's heated pace.
"That's it, man," Abel muttered, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground. "I'm done. I'm not coming back here. Ever."
"Dude, you can't just ditch school. What are you gonna do? Hide out at home forever?"
Abel shot him a glare. "Why not? Better than getting dunked in a toilet by that psycho."
"Look, I get it," Ben panted, though his voice was tinged with anxiety. "But if you bail, Todd's just gonna find someone else to mess with. You really want him to make me his new target?"
"Oh, so I'm supposed to be your freaking scapegoat?" Abel snapped, stopping in his tracks to stare at Ben.
Ben looked down at his sneakers, shuffling them awkwardly. "No, but… I don't know, man. You just gotta stick it out. Maybe he'll get bored if you don't give him the reaction he wants."
Abel let out a bitter laugh as he resumed his quick pace. "Yeah, right. Like Todd's gonna get bored of ruining my life."
They walked in silence for a few more meters. "Besides, Todd can't bully you, man. Your dad has connections," Abel said comfortingly.
From a distance, Abel could see his bike leaning against a lamp post where he always left it. But something looked off.
As they got closer, Abel's eyes widened in disbelief. The front wheel was completely bent out of shape, twisted like some demented pretzel. The back tire was flat, the rubber slashed to ribbons. The handlebars were hanging crooked, the brake cables dangling uselessly.
Abel's face flushed with anger. "Are you kidding me?" he shouted, throwing his hands up. "What the hell, man?"
Ben winced, taking in the damage. "Dude… that's messed up."
Abel growled, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "It's not bad enough he tries to drown me in a toilet... now this?"
He kicked at the twisted front wheel, the metal creaking under his foot. "This was my only way to get home! I don't even have money for the bus."
Ben hesitated, then spoke up. "Maybe I can ask Davis to give you a ride?"
Abel shook his head, fuming. "No, it's fine. I'll figure something out." He was already feeling bad enough. The last thing he needed was Ben's driver making him feel worthless.
Suddenly, a honk cut through their conversation. Abel did not look up; his eyes were fixated on his vandalized bike. Right now,He felt he understood why people turned to psychotic villains. They were pushed too much.
"That's him, man. Are you sure you don't want a ride?"
"Nah, man... see ya." Abel stood there for a while, watching as Ben's car disappeared down the street.
"Looks like I got off easy," a feminine voice cut through Abel's angry daydream, where he was getting revenge on Todd and his goons in a thousand different ways. Startled, he turned to see Hilsa pushing her bike toward him.
For a moment, he just stared, surprised to see her again so soon. Twice in one day? Abel thought. At this rate, Hilsa was beginning to lose her introvert badge. But then his scrambled thoughts registered what she had said. His eyes drifted down to her bike, and to his dismay, he saw it—both tires were flat, and as the rims rolled forward, he could spot two ugly slashes where the damage had been dealt.
"Damn," Abel muttered, his frustration growing. "They got you too?"
Hilsa nodded, her expression unreadable as she stopped beside him.
Abel couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. At least Hilsa's tires could be fixed. Looking at his wrecked bike, he knew no one would be able to restore it. And even if they could, the cost would probably be worth more than a new bicycle. As he stood there, Abel felt a surge of guilt for Hilsa's predicament. She had, after all, gotten on Todd's radar because she had tried to help him.
Now that she was here, a thought struck Abel. He had been waiting for something to happen since that incident in the lavatory, some sort of teacher intervention, yet nothing had happened so far. Perhaps it was the lack of action that had led to the bullies getting this bold.
"How come nothing's happened to Todd yet?" Abel asked, frustration clear in his voice.
"Oh, that… I wasn't really live-streaming to the teachers' WhatsApp group. It was a lie," Hilsa answered, glaring down at her flat tires.
"What?" Abel didn't know whether to be impressed by her guts or angered by the deception. He had spent the entire afternoon expecting some kind of action to be taken against Todd and his group.
"You lied about that?" he asked, still trying to process the revelation.
Hilsa shrugged, her expression unrepentant. "It was the only way I could think of to get them to stop. Besides, it worked, didn't it?"
Abel opened his mouth to argue, but the words caught in his throat. She had a point. If Hilsa hadn't intervened, things could've been much worse. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment. He'd been holding on to the hope that someone would finally stand up to Todd on his behalf.
"Well, it might've stopped them for a minute," Abel muttered, kicking at the ground. "But now they're back at it, worse than before."
"Yeah, well… jerks like Todd don't usually change because of a scare." Hilsa's voice was matter-of-fact, but there was a hint of weariness in her tone. "If they did, the world would be a much better place."
Abel couldn't help but agree, even if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked back at Hilsa, who was now kneeling beside her bike, inspecting the slashed tires.
"I'm sorry," he said, the words tumbling out before he could stop them.
Hilsa glanced up, surprised. "For what?"
"For… all of this. You wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't stepped in."
She gave a small, dismissive wave. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault Todd and his goons are psychos."
Abel still felt bad, but there was something oddly comforting in Hilsa's nonchalance. It was as if she was used to dealing with situations like this, like she'd learned not to let people get under her skin.
The school had nearly emptied, with only a few straggling students lingering in the late afternoon light. Abel and Hilsa were among the last to leave, they slowly made their way toward the school gate.
"Let me help you push that," Abel offered, reaching for Hilsa's bike.
Hilsa hesitated, her eyes darting between Abel and his wrecked bike. Abel caught the look of confusion on her face and wondered if she wasn't used to accepting help or if she was confused about who would push his bike. He decided to go with the latter.
He had already decided on a story for when his mom got home. He wasn't going to tell her about the bullies or the vandalism. He was going to say that the bike was stolen. It would save her a lot of worry and spare him from a barrage of questions. Plus, there was a chance she might get him another bike.
"There's no way I'm pushing that home," he said, nodding toward his mangled bike.
Hilsa reluctantly handed over her bike, and they walked out of the school in silence.
The quiet between them stretched on, growing more uncomfortable with each step. Abel wasn't sure what to say, and it seemed Hilsa wasn't in a rush to fill the silence either.
Eventually, Abel couldn't take it anymore. "How do you plan to fix this?" he asked, breaking the quiet.
Hilsa glanced at her bike with a sigh. "I'll have to ask my dad to fix it. He..he usually handles this kind of stuff."
Abel noticed a hint of uncertainty in her voice, as if she wasn't entirely sure. He wasn't sure what it was. fear, perhaps? but he chose not to push it.
Eventually, they fell back into silence for the rest of the way, but it was a kind of comfortable silence that comes with familiarity, the kind you experience when you're around someone who understands what you're going through, someone who cares.
They finally reached a point where their paths diverged. Abel stopped and handed Hilsa her bike. "Here we are. Thanks for earlier. I really appreciate it."
Hilsa took the bike from him with an honest smile. "No problem. And… thanks for helping me too. Bye."
"Bye," Abel said, noting that her body language had returned to the introvert Hilsa. He stood for a while, trying to figure out what was up with her, until suddenly a beep alerted him to a notification on his phone.
He reached for it as he watched her disappear around a corner. Turning his attention to the screen, he saw a notification that made his heart skip a beat.
[You feel like crap… like everything in your life is fucked up… we offer you a silver lining… you might even call it a golden ticket… Click install and your life will take a 360; click cancel and you can resume your pitiful existence.]
"What the hell is wrong with things today?" Abel exclaimed in surprise.